Chinese quit DocFest

Delegation angry over dissident film.

by Jennie Kermode

There are six Chinese films screening at this year's Sheffield Docfest as part of a strand dedicated to celebrating the bes of the Asian country's recent work. The Chinese delegation, however, today announced that they would no longer be attending. One of those films is considered unacceptable; it features dissident artist Ai Weiwei.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is directed by Alison Klayman, a US journalist who lived in China for four years. It explores his life and work and has provided him with a unique opportunity to address Western audiences. Restrictive bail conditions mean the artist, who has spent several months in detention, is limited in his ability to communicate online.

"Officially we have been told that the reason the Chinese delegation cancelled is a restriction on the number of trips they can make to Europe," said DocFest director Heather Croall in a statement. "Unofficially... we came under pressure not to show certain films. We resisted the pressure and the films remain in the programme. We are very disappointed that the Chinbese delegation will now not be attending the festival but we remain very hopeful that they will attend in the future."

Also thought to have antagonised the Chinese is Steve Maing's film High Tech, Low Life, which investigates the work of Chinese citizen journalists challenging state censorship to post stories in online bulletins.

Share this with others on...
News

Underrepresented stories Laura Green and Anna Moot-Levin on Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s

Between strangers Anthony Chen in capturing emotion in Drift

Art of observation Matthäus Wörle on his collaborative approach to debut documentary Where We Used To Sleep

Gateway between worlds Anu Valia on expectations, reality and We Strangers

The little things Inside the 2024 Glasgow Short Film Festival

Choosing her colours Joe Lawlor and Christine Malloy on Rose Dugdale and Baltimore

Filmhouse gets £1.5m funding boost Edinburgh cultural hub set to reopen this year

More news and features

Interact

More competitions coming soon.